Battle of La Hougue

The Battle of La Hougue took place at Saint-Vaast La Hougue near Barfleur in the Cotentin peninsula, Normandy, France between 30 May and 2 June 1692, and was the decisive naval battle of the War of the Grand Alliance.

The French fleet under the command of the comte Anne Hilarion de Tourville, which threatened to transport an invading army of Franco-Irish troops to place James II back on the English throne, fought against an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by Admiral Russell.

Although the French were initially successful, the allied fleet soon took control, and many French ships proved unable to retreat to their port and were captured or destroyed by the Allies. This ended all threat of a French invasion of England for the remainder of the war, a possibility which had been opened up by the earlier French victory at the Battle of Beachy Head.